Games
by cloudyailin
Summary: A clumsy slip leads to an interesting transition in Bella's relationship with Emmett Cullen. Oneshot. Canon. Set before New Moon.


I was beyond mortified.

The crash had been thunderous to my ears. Charlie would have heard it even if he had the TV downstairs turned to full volume. There was no possible way Edward could have missed it from where he waited for me in my bedroom.

And God, my back hurt!

I groaned, more from the horror of the situation than the pain, which I was trying to ride out by remaining carefully frozen. When I had been living with my mother, I'd never had to worry about what state I was in when I took a spill. Renee was always safe to call for when I'd managed to do something clumsy. Here, I was in a house with two men, and not a single female nearby to get me out of this humiliating situation.

I heard Charlie's feet pounding on the stairs and I winced at his obvious hurry. He was probably about to have a heart attack. "Bella?"

"I'm okay!" I shouted back quickly, hoping my father wouldn't burst in through the door even more than I hoped Edward wouldn't. "I'm alright, don't worry, I just fell!"

I couldn't hear him, but I knew he was still standing right outside the bathroom door, breathing heavily from the stairs and the adrenaline rush. "Are you sure?"

"I'm okay," I repeated loudly. After a moment, the stairs creaked again as he returned to the TV more slowly.

Just moving my lungs to speak had hurt. I cringed, bracing for the pain as I sat upright. It was still more than I'd expected and I groaned again.

There was a quiet tapping at the door. "I'm alright, Edward," I said very quietly. I was barely able to hear myself over the still running shower, but I knew his beyond-human ears would pick it up. "Don't panic."

It was silent then, and I hoped that he'd returned to my room where Charlie wouldn't somehow catch sight of him. I used both hands on the walls to push myself to my feet, nearly slipping again. I leaned against the wall for a few minutes, head pressed into the tiles, biting down on my fist to keep quiet. It wasn't like I was unused to pain - what with the injuries my clumsiness had won me over the years - but I never was quite prepared for it.

I stretched the muscles in my back, keeping my jaw tightly clenched. I could feel the movement with horribly exquisite clarity. It rippled down my spine from my hips to my tailbone. There would be bruises, but I didn't think anything was broken. I twisted to the side to reach the faucet, and couldn't contain the tiny whimper that it brought.

I bit my lip, listening for Edward's tap at the door as I turned the water off. He was surely waiting desperately to see that I was whole and hale. He'd just have to wait a few minutes more. It was going to take me awhile at this rate.

No breaks, I assured myself. I'd broken my tailbone before. Twice, in fact. I was certain that this wasn't quite as bad as that. But it still hurt.

The first thing I did was grab the bottle of pain relievers from their shelf. They had a special place here, same as they had in my bathroom in Phoenix: front and center. I took the maximum dosage and lifted water in my cupped hands from the faucet to my mouth as there was no glass and I wasn't about to bend down any more than I had to.

I dried off as well as I could with a limited range of motion, then turned to glare at my pajamas. Only by keeping each movement slow and careful was I able to manage the underwear. The thought of my sweatpants and t-shirt made me sigh. Fortunately, I remembered that I had another option for this unforeseen circumstance. I went to the shelves in the corner where my bathrobe sat folded in the back.

It had been a Christmas present from my mother, and it was thin, short, too soft, and bright green. It was impractical, and Renee should have known that it wasn't my tastes at all. I'd almost laughed when I'd first pulled it free of the wrapping paper, but of course I'd thanked her with gusto when she'd asked how I liked it.

I pulled it out from where it had sat untouched for months, shook it out, and pulled it over my shoulders. Bathrobes in general seemed remarkably handy to me at the moment, though I usually preferred to be fully clothed around the house. It was much easier than real clothes would be in my current condition. I tied the belt gently but it still twinged. I let my face clench up, using my expressions now so it would be easier to hide them when Edward saw me. It wasn't bad, and I didn't want him worrying uselessly.

He was perched on the edge of my bed, the picture of impatience, when I finally made it to my room. He blurred when he crossed the few steps between us, and I saw the worry when he took my face in his hands and examined what he could see of me. I raised myself on my toes - though the flash of pain instantly told me that it was a mistake - and placed placating kiss on his lips. "I'll be fine. I just bruised my tailbone a little. Is Charlie freaking out?"

Edward's gaze flickered towards the stairs as he listened for Charlie's thoughts. "He's worried. He'll come check on you soon if you don't prove to him that you're still alive and made it out of the tub."

I sighed, rolling my eyes theatrically for Edward's benefit. "I'll be right back." I turned back around, my hand on the doorway, and then the wall for balance. I could feel Edward's eyes on me as I went down the stairs, and I almost sighed again. I was going to have to do a lot more reassuring to get out of this one.

I poked only my head into the living room. When Charlie was in his super-alert 'Chief Swan mode' he noticed details that he was usually oblivious to. I didn't want him correctly interpreting my sudden use of bathrobes. "Dad?"

"Are you alright, Bella?"

I smiled at him. "I'll be fine. It's not the first time I've fallen in the tub."

He didn't respond to my humor. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

I considered, while trying not to let it show on my face. An x-ray wasn't the worst idea in the world. I shook my head though. Nothing was broken. I didn't need an x-ray to tell me that. "I'm fine. Nothing more than bruises. Good night."

I turned back up the stairs, and almost fell right over from the surprise of finding Edward right beside me. He was just inches out of Charlie's line of sight, barely hidden at all, especially with his arm around my waist to keep me from stumbling back. I glared at him for startling me - not that I shouldn't have expected it - but held my exclamations in.

"Damn sneaky vampire," I mumbled, unable to give a true chastising with Charlie so close.

Edward smiled at my words and dropped his lips to my ear. "Do you want me to carry you?"

I didn't have to consider that. There were a lot of stairs, they would hurt more than a few seconds of being carried. I wrapped my hand around Edward's neck and he bent to slip his arm under my knees. Effortlessly, I was in his arms, and he walked at a normal human pace, being sure to let the steps creak in the right places. He must have known Charlie was listening.

I was set down on the bed with more than the usual amount of extreme care. I knew I had terrified him yet again. He was always careful with my 'fragile human body'; his every movement perfectly controlled so he wouldn't hurt me. But when he treated me like a soap bubble instead of merely glass, I knew just how scared of losing me he really was.

"Are you alright?" he whispered, crouching beside my bed and running the back of his hand across my cheek.

"I'm fine. Don't worry so much. I've had worse. I'll be perfect again in a few days."

"Are you sure? I could bring you to Carlisle," he offered. "I could bring Carlisle here."

"I'm fine!" I stressed. The last thing I needed was the rest of Edward's family to be thinking about my condition. One worried vampire was enough. "I've _broken _my coccyx twice before. This is nothing. I'll just have to sit funny for awhile." I looked up into his face, then tried to rub away the creases at his forehead. "I'm sorry. I'll try to be more careful."

"I can't help it, Bella," he admitted. "You scare me."

"You panicked. You always panic."

"I do."

And there was nothing I could do to change that. "Come here?" I asked hopefully. He hadn't said yet if he was staying tonight, and Emmett had mentioned wanting to hunt this weekend.

He kissed me and stretched out on the bed. I curled myself around him, taking care not to strain anything. He noticed my smooth motion and nodded over my shoulder. "I put the Tylenol and a glass of water on your nightstand."

"You're wonderful. Thank you."

He kissed me again.

-000-

"What'd you do this time?" Emmett asked.

I glared at Edward's brother for finding such humor in my situation, and he dared to grin at me. Like my pain was funny to him. I pretended I hadn't heard him, and Esme made it easy for me to ignore her son when she took the other half of my loveseat, drawing me into a discussion on my opinions of French doors.

Twenty minutes later though, Emmett still persisted in throwing amused smirks my way during his commercial breaks. I was trying to concentrate on Esme, but I was starting to get pissed. That was when I felt the first wave of calm wash over me. I kept myself from looking upwards where I knew Jasper had sequestered himself for the afternoon in his attempt to learn Cantonese before the others returned from their shopping trip. He had made another bet, this time with Rosalie, and this one required studying. My irrational anger at Emmett was clearly disturbing Jasper.

Jasper's talent was more worrisome to me than Edward's was for the simple reason that Edward's talent didn't work on me. Edward had never heard a single thought from my head, but Jasper could feel every wisp of emotion that ran through me. He could affect those emotions too, same as he could with everyone else.

When I realized that I was angry enough for Jasper to feel the need to intervene, I refocused all my attention on Esme, engrossing myself fully in our conversation, which wasn't that interesting to me to begin with.

I tried, I really did. Jasper's calming influence continued to hit at regular intervals, the pressure of it most noticeable after Emmett's commercial breaks.

An hour passed very slowly, Esme introducing me to the world of restoration and historical houses, and Emmett discreetly grinning at me from behind her back whenever he grew bored.

Then Jasper walked into the room, looking around at us three. He entered just in time to see Emmett grin at me again. He immediately walked over to his brother and smacked him across the back of the head.

"Hey!" Emmett shouted. The blow just barely moved him. Jasper hadn't been going for damage, just demanding attention. Emmett didn't bother to stand up, apparently understanding that he wasn't being attacked. "What the hell?"

Jasper's voice was quiet and serious, a command rather than a request. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop being irritating. You know I'm trying to beat Rosalie at this one and your amusement is distracting me." Jasper didn't even look in my direction. I blushed anyway, knowing that it probably wasn't Emmett's entertainment that had pulled Jasper's attention from his work but my fury at the teasing. I had to learn to control my temper. At least Jasper was being nice about it. Irritation was too gentle a word.

Emmett grinned at the reminder of the bet Rosalie and Jasper had made. He took the excuse available and lied through his teeth. "Hey, I'm only distracting you to give my sweet wife a fighting chance. You've been up there all day. You've got to speak better Cantonese than she does by now."

"I'm not risking it." Jasper gave Emmett a shove before he turned around, again gentle and undamaging. Emmett swung at Jasper's back, and settled more comfortably into his chair in front of the game.

Esme turned back around from their confrontation when Jasper left. She didn't question the faint redness that lingered on my cheeks. Perhaps she thought it was due to anxiety over her sons' playful violence. Edward would have known better. He would have questioned my blush.

I was almost completely positive that Emmett had been lying to Jasper. Or if not fully lying, than at least lying about his intentions. Pleasing Rosalie by distracting Jasper from his studying was a good motivation, but I was sure it was secondary to the more immediate pleasure he derived from my frustration.

And Emmett stopped for a good while, leaving Esme to regale me with tales of particular architects and their "amazing" creations. Eventually, the others returned - first Carlisle and Edward from their hunt, then Rosalie from shopping - and for awhile the room was a swirl of joking and welcomes and chatter of the days activities. Esme brought down her blueprints to show to an attentive Carlisle, who appeared both knowledgeable on the subject and cheerful to share it with his wife.

Rosalie occupied Emmett's attention for several minutes with a play-by-play of a scuffle she'd witnessed in a high-end clothing boutique. I wondered briefly if she'd always been so focused on competition as her story implied, or if her habits were simply established so that she could happily keep Emmett's eyes on her. I couldn't imagine that she needed to talk about violence and mayhem to drag him away from the pale-by-comparison football game - though if she did, sitting in Emmett's lap as she was had to help.

After the second commercial break she left him to the TV and returned to the computer where she and Alice had been working earlier. Alice hadn't yet returned; Rosalie had brought in their dozen shopping bags by herself, mentioning Alice's desire to hunt on the way home from Seattle.

It was Edward's return I cared most about, though he didn't have anything to share with me like the others did when returning to their significant others. I was just pleased to be back in Edward's arms; that was enough inclusion for me.

Edward had arranged me carefully on his lap when he'd sat down so that my tailbone was not being jostled. Therefore I was ridiculously comfortable compared to the rest of the past two days. I wasn't about to move anywhere, and since Carlisle and Esme were sitting near us I found myself dragged into the conversation about interior layouts and the best kind of doors to complement Victorian moulding.

And then Emmett started again. Edward didn't see; he was turned in towards Carlisle and Esme, all three of them focused on the conversation, none of them facing Emmett. I was more glad than usual that Edward couldn't hear my thoughts; it rankled that Emmett dared to pick on me with Edward in the room so my thoughts were very insulting at the moment, and I thought Edward probably would find that quite unladylike. Not that he usually cared how feminine my behavior was.

He could certainly hear Emmett's thoughts though. I wondered why he hadn't picked up on it after a half hour of bathroom to bedroom ratios and the correct spacing of windows in a three-story Colonial. Maybe Emmett was being careful. Maybe Emmett was tricking Edward, lying with his thoughts. I'd been told on more than one occasion that it was possible.

When Edward's head suddenly shot up in the middle of arched doorways, I thought Emmett must have slipped. The staring and evil grinning had worked its way up to every minute or so. I was no longer paying much attention to architecture. But instead Edward glanced out toward the stairs, and then at me. "Are you okay?" he asked in confusion.

I was about to tell him that I was fine, my normal default answer for that question. But his eyes turned toward the stairs again and I realized that he was listening to Jasper, who wasn't bothering to hide his thoughts from Edward, who couldn't lie to Edward, who had Emmett's and my emotions to tell him what was passing between us.

Thanks to Edward's question, Emmett's eyes were on me - waiting for my answer - when Jasper stalked back in. Jasper's arm lashed out, and for a moment I found this strange since he was standing across the room from all of us. It was only when the bang sounded and Emmett's head jerked back that I realized Jasper had thrown something at the back of his brother's head.

And only when Rosalie called out, "Pop fly," in the following silence, and darted forward to catch the rebounded object did I realize that Jasper had deliberately thrown a baseball at Emmett. Esme sighed in relief when the baseball landed in Rosalie's hands. Nothing had been resolved yet, but Rosalie's quick action had undoubtedly saved a crystal vase on the table by the window.

Emmett was on his feet in an instant, ducked into a hunter's crouch, growling at Jasper. Jasper didn't look the slightest bit intimidated. He didn't react to Emmett's aggression except to point a threatening finger in Emmett's direction. "Knock it off."

Emmett grinned, inexplicably innocent once again. "I don't know what you're talking about," he answered as he dropped back into his chair. But I figured anyone with the slightest experience in human body language could see that he knew exactly what he was being accused of.

"Stop picking on Bella," Jasper ordered.

Everyone's eyes flew to me, then back to Emmett. No one else had noticed anything happening.

"I wasn't picking on Bella," Emmett said quickly, with a whine to his voice that suggested he now felt like he was being picked on. "I was sitting right here watching the game. Ask anyone. I haven't said a word to her in hours."

I didn't bother to say anything. It was like being back in elementary school, where the mean kids always lied their way out of trouble. Emmett was the closest I'd ever come to having a brother, but he was still being my own personal 'mean kid'.

Edward looked from Emmett down at me, his expression making it clear that he was picking apart a puzzle. The others were just confused. I could see Carlisle and Esme exchange a glance and then continue watching the scene play out. They weren't about to interfere unless mediation was required. Their 'children' had all had enough decades of experience to be considered capable of handling their own disputes. They didn't need babying.

Rosalie didn't look much concerned. She didn't care for me at all, so the idea of my being picked on was not bothersome to her. She was watching Emmett, probably most concerned with watching the wrestling match that was about to break out between the Cullen boys.

"Was he picking on you, Bella?" Edward asked. With Emmett's mental lying, my mental silence, and everyone's lack of observance, Edward really had nothing to go on but our word and Jasper's sense of our emotions.

I knew what Jasper had been feeling from me. I had been more than a little annoyed, even with his repeated bursts of calm that kept me from getting all the way to rage: Jasper's doing of course. And Emmett must have been enjoying himself immensely, but that _could _have been from watching the game.

At Edward's question, all eyes were back on me. I blushed instantly to be at the center of attention.

I didn't really care what Emmett thought. Edward's brother or not, I wasn't about to continue taking crap like this every time I came over. Compared to the other three Cullen men, Emmett had the maturity of a ten year old. I could always trust the others to be caring and accepting - or in Rosalie's case to at least consistently ignore me - but Emmett liked to play. He liked to push buttons and see how things worked. I could never count on his reaction.

But at Edward's question, it was Emmett's gaze that mine met. He was grinning at me again, a challenge. I raised my chin stubbornly. I didn't care what he thought. This was going to end here. The others welcomed me with more or less open arms and he persisted in testing my reactions, as though I needed testing. I was here, wasn't I?

Daily, I put my life in the hands of not only the vampire I loved, but his whole vampire family, whose self-control, while respected, could not have the same commitment as Edward's did. My blood smelled and tasted better to Edward than that of any other human he'd ever come in contact with. And he had decades' worth of experience to compare me to.

I knew he thirsted for my blood. I knew he struggled with that thirst at times. I'd nearly died at the hands of a vampire in the spring. I knew the danger all too well.

I still couldn't stay away from Edward. The thought of it was literally painful. At night I slept beside him, just inches from his razor-sharp predator's teeth. I spent hours every week at his house, with his entire family, some with better records of self-control than others. I knew that at any moment one of my clumsy slips, the smallest unexpected drop of blood, a split second's lapse in concentration, could mean the very literal death of me.

And it really didn't matter.

I couldn't tell Edward that. He worried about my safety enough with me always in such close proximity to vampires; I didn't need him worrying about my sanity also.

I was hopelessly in love with him. My safety was the smallest of prices to pay as the trade-off for being with him. This risk to my life was nothing to me. I would give it up in a heartbeat if it meant keeping him forever. In fact, I was hoping for it.

I was hoping that someday he would change me, make me truly one of the family. I couldn't count on it; I knew he loved me too much to subject me to what he saw as a cursed existence. I was willing to bear every horror of a vampire's life in exchange for eternity with Edward. I'd never used those words when I brought the topic up; I tried to be gentle about it. He was dead set against it.

A human lifetime with Edward was far too short for me, but I'd take it for lack of a better option, just like I took the danger.

I didn't care what Emmett thought. He had no business testing my reactions. My hazardous lifestyle choices were enough. He couldn't do anything to change my mind. I was in this for the long haul. His monkey-business wasn't making this any easier, and I didn't have to take it.

But I was no rat.

He couldn't do anything to change my mind. I was in this for the long haul. I was going to take whatever he could dish. I almost laughed. I almost grinned. Emmett could rattle me all he wanted, but he wasn't going to shake me loose. I wouldn't let him. He was stuck with me. He was stuck with his challenges and his button pushing and I wasn't going to back down. That was the real challenge. How long before he got bored of me?

"I'm fine," I answered, turning from Emmett to meet Edward's and then Jasper's gazes in turn, daring them to question that.

Jasper looked shocked, and Emmett looked rather amazed, then pleased. Edward glanced from Jasper to Emmett and then back to me, so I assume the knowledge that I was lying had passed to him. Edward looked disgruntled, but didn't have time to confront me, as Emmett had his eyes locked on me and asked, "Are you alright, Bella? Seemed like you were hurt when you came in."

"Fell in the tub," I answered calmly, my gaze never wavering. This battle was suddenly amusing to me, but I wasn't sure why. I was always testing my wits against my life's many problems. I was constantly reminding myself not to let anything slip in front of Charlie, to keep my e-mails to Renee carefully innocent of anything that hinted at the depth of my relationship with Edward, to always say the Cullens were hiking, not hunting, and out of town, not indoors because of the sun.

I had battles enough, and none of the deceptions meant any more to me than a hassle. But this bit of trickery had my full attention. This was trivial, unthreatening, safe. No one would hurt if secrets were improperly juggled here. "Bruised my tailbone. No big deal."

"Ah. I hope you feel better then."

"Thank you."

And that was that. Emmett turned back to the game. I looked back to Edward, who was staring at me. He looked bewildered, and I wanted to laugh at him, but I thought it might hurt his feelings. Instead I just smiled to reassure him, and pushed at the wrinkles on his forehead. He shook his head at me and relaxed slightly. An instant later though and he was staring off into space.

I knew the look. I knew the look. He was listening to things that were far beyond the reach of my normal human ears.

"Alice is back," he answered the others when they turned to listen.

"What is that noise?" Emmett asked. He sounded concerned. "It sounds like she's in the garage."

Edward winced. Then Alice was in the doorway of the room, looking windblown from her run. She also looked angry. It was a bit scary to see. I'd never been afraid of Alice before. I trusted Alice; she had become both sister and best friend to me these past few months. Now, even with her eyes golden instead of their thirsty black, she looked dangerous. She looked like someone who was not to be crossed, and already had been.

"Alice," Edward said warily, as if he was also afraid of his sister.

She didn't reply as she crossed the room to stand in front of Emmett, between him and the television. Everyone watched her, as if we knew she was about to go postal and she was already holding a gun. Edward even tightened his arms around me. I gave him a rather sarcastic glare. I wasn't in danger from Alice.

Emmett was in some kind of shock. Apparently he knew what Alice was about. She set a can of lemon yellow spray paint down on Emmett's armrest, then pulled one of his Jeep's floodlights from her pocket and tossed it to his lap. "This is just a warning," she informed him. "Next time I won't hold back. Don't do it again."

"Do what?" He held his floodlight between his hands, looking dazed.

Alice grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked on his head. "You can't pick on Bella and get away with it. Now apologize!"

"Alice!" He batted at her and tried to get her off, but she was too quick, somehow darting and ducking the blows while still yanking at his hair.

"Alice!" I called from across the room, my shout not a complaint, but a demand. That caught her attention, and Emmett's. He stopped hitting, she stopped moving, and they both looked at me.

She frowned at my interruption. She was sure of herself. "He should apologize to you," she defended herself. She was confused as to why I was objecting.

"He already did," I told her.

Her eyebrows pulled together. "I didn't hear it."

"I did," I said, directing it both to her and Emmett. "It's alright."

She looked like she didn't trust my judgment on that, but Edward and Jasper both nodded in agreement, and she released Emmett's hair and went to Rosalie's side without comment. Emmett smoothed his hair and put his eyes back on the television. Alice and Rosalie started back on their silks and sequins.

Carlisle and Esme exchanged a long look, then turned to me and Edward for explanations. "Those multi-paned windows are nice, and they sure look like they're meant to be, but they're hard to clean," I said, trying not to make it too pointed. I saw Edward roll his eyes, but Esme laughed at my obvious attempt to return them to things not revolving around me.

"They are. I suppose sometimes we have to think about practicality in architecture."

"Unless you have maids or plenty of spare time," I allowed. "Then I say go all out."

"You are so strange, Bella," Jasper said with a sigh as he flopped down on the sofa across from Edward and I, behind Emmett's chair.

I knew he was not referring to my pragmatic opinions on windows. "Thank you, Jasper," I answered, not insulted. I was thanking him for more than the not-quite compliment to my character. I had never expected him to come to my defense like that.

He grinned in understanding, and with complete sincerity, replied, "You're welcome."

The surprises never ended though. When Edward had us back on the highway headed towards my house, he turned to me and said, "You're really something, Bella Swan."

I was confused by the words, tickled by the compliment he intended, and surprised that he'd said them. I wasn't sure to what he was referring to now.

"Why?"

"Emmett wanted you to lose your temper. He thought it would be interesting. I guess he didn't remember that you're the suffer-in-silence type. Even towards the end he was hoping for some passive-aggressiveness at the very least. He doesn't know you that well."

"I guess not."

"He was also hoping that it would give me a reason to wrestle with him. He was fully expecting you to say something. And when you didn't, when you _lied_, you really earned his respect."

My mind whirled at that. "What? Why? How?"

"He saw that you didn't snitch. He sees that as you fighting your own battles. That you didn't need anyone standing up for you, you didn't care if anyone defended you or not. You 'took it like a man', in his opinion. He knows his teasing got to you. And you held your own. When he was caught, you defended him, though he didn't deserve it. You didn't hold a grudge and let him get his due. You treated him like a man, like a friend, and you forgave him. He really respects all of that. He respects you, admires you even."

"Oh. Wow."

"Yeah. That's something, isn't it?"

"Yeah."


End file.
